Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-02
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 2, 1887
Exemptions

The expediency of exempting new
manufacturing establishments from tax
alton for term of years is under dis
cussion in Petersburg. The inder-
appeal comes out very decidedly for
such exemption. 1t proposes that the
City Council shall adopt an ordinance
in the words following, or other equiv
alent words:
"Be il ordained by the Common
Council that all capital invested or to
be invested in manufacturing enter
prises started in the city Of Petersburg
shall be free from all city taxes for
period Of ten years from and after the
LIST day of January, 1887"
That would be sweeping exemption;
'"all capital invested or to be invested
in manufacturing enterprises started in
the city of Petersburg"
When the same question was raised
in Richmond, as it was raised not long
ago, the City Attorney decided that the
Council had no power to exempt manu-
featuring plants from taxation. How
he could have come to different con-
clusion we cannot imagine, for the
State Constitution provides as follows
Taxation, except rs hereinafterpro-
yided, whether imposed by the State,
county, or corporate bodies, shall be
equal and uniform, and all property,
both real and personal, shall be taxed In
proportion to its value"
That would seem TO exclude the pos
sibiiity that there could be any exemp-
ton not in violation of the Constitution,
unless the words except as hereinaf-
ter provided " point out a method of
escape from that conclusion. But do
they? No; for the Constitution tells
exactly what property may be exempted
by the Legislature and manufacturing
plants are not named. 1t provides
Section 3. The Legislature may ex-
empt all property used exclusively foe
State, county, municipal, benevolent,
charitable, educational. and religious
purposes.
That ought TO settle the question.
Note, too, that it confines the power of
exemption to the Legislature. No City
Council has any such power.
We notice that our Petersburg con-
temporary proposes to tax these new
manufacturing plants one dollar year.
Why? We cannot imagine unless it is
because the Constitution provides that
call other business which cannot be
reached by the ad vGiOrem system"
may be taxed otherwise. But surely
new manufacturing enterprises would
not come under that exception, or, If
so. old ones also, let the business be
what it may, would come under it.
This, however, is proved not to be the
case, by the fact that the very section
which contains the words last above
quoted provides as follows:
1.-THE capital invested III all business
operations shall be assessed and taxed as
other property"
The West Virginia Constitution con
tains provisions similar tothose We have
hereinbefore quoted-we might say,
the same. In a case which few years
ago went up to the Supreme Court of
the United States this tribunal decided
that the corporation of Parkersburg
had no power to exempt manufacturing
plants.
For our part, we never could see the
Justice of exempting new enterprises
from taxation and putting the taxes
they ought to pay upon the old ones
upon old ones, too, doing the very
same kind of work. 1t is discrimina-
tion against the establishments best en-
titled to protection. If any kinds OF
business are to be exempted from taxa
ton, it ought TO be the business of such
plants as are new both in the sense
that they are just about to begin and
in the sense that there are none of the
same kind already in existence in the
city or town exempting them.